Head of Finance Business Partnering

Drive financial strategy. Enable better outcomes. Join Creative Education Trust as our Head of Finance Business Partnering and work at the heart of decision-making - leading financial planning, analysis, and business partnering across our schools while supporting the Chief Financial Officer to shape the Trust’s future.

Job Title: Head of Finance Business Partnering

Location: Home based, with regular trust-wide travel with occasional overnight stays as required.

Salary: Competitive

Start Date: ASAP

Contract Type: Permanent

Working Pattern: Full time

Application Closing Date: Wednesday 24th June 2026

Interview Date: Week Commencing 29th June 2026

About You:

Creative Education Trust is seeking an exceptional Head of Finance Business Partnering to lead the delivery and continuous development of a high-quality, insight-driven finance function across the Trust. In this pivotal role, you will work in close partnership with the Chief Financial Officer to shape and deliver financial strategy - leading on management accounts, financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and the evolution of Integrated Curriculum and Financial Planning (ICFP). With a clear focus on enabling the Trust’s strategic priorities, you will ensure financial processes, systems, and analysis drive efficiency, innovation, and impact across our schools.

Through expert financial analysis and business partnering, you will empower the Executive Team and school leaders to make informed, data-driven decisions, while leading and developing a team of Senior Finance Business Partners. You will play a key role in strengthening financial management, improving reporting and benchmarking, and embedding best practice across the Trust - fostering a culture of continuous improvement and high performance. This is a career-defining opportunity to combine strategic leadership with operational excellence, delivering meaningful impact for our schools and the communities they serve.

Our Ideal candidate will have:

• Professional Expertise: Professionally qualified accountant (ACCA, CIMA, ICAEW, CIPFA or equivalent) with substantial post‑qualification experience and a track record of delivering high-quality financial leadership.
• Complex Financial Reporting: Proven experience producing and presenting consolidated management accounts within complex, multi-site or decentralised organisations.
• Insight-Driven Decision Making: Strong background in developing clear, actionable financial analysis that supports stakeholder outcomes and strategic decision-making.
• People Leadership: Experienced in leading, motivating, and developing high-performing teams - building capability through coaching, training, and support.
• Sector Knowledge: Solid understanding of academy financial regulations, with a strong grasp of how multi-academy trusts and schools operate.
• Service Excellence: A customer-focused mindset, with a demonstrable ability to improve services, streamline processes, and add value across an organisation.
• Strategic Communication: An excellent communicator, able to translate complex financial data into clear, meaningful insights for a wide range of stakeholders.
• Relationship Building: Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build trusted, collaborative relationships across senior leaders and school teams.
• Continuous Improvement: A proactive mindset with a passion for refining processes, driving efficiencies, and embedding best practice across a finance function.

About the Finance Department:

The Finance Department is a collective of over 20 finance professionals and play a pivotal role in strengthening Creative Education Trust’s ability to deliver exceptional opportunities for young people. As a strategic partner to schools, central teams and the Executive Board, the department provides the insight, leadership and financial stewardship that ensure resources are used wisely and aligned with the Trust’s ambition for improvement and long‑term sustainability. The Team’s work enables confident decision‑making and ensures every financial choice supports the mission to improve opportunities across all of the communities we serve.

Alongside its strategic leadership, the department maintains the robust financial operations that underpin the Trust’s resilience and effectiveness. From planning and reporting to the vital Accounts Payable and Receivable functions, the team ensures high‑quality, timely and transparent processes that uphold strong financial governance and support colleagues and partners with professionalism and reliability. Together, this purposeful approach empowers Creative Education Trust to operate with clarity, integrity and ambition - ensuring resources reach the classrooms and students where they make the greatest difference.

About Creative Education Trust:

Creative Education Trust is a growing network of 17 schools, educating over 13,500 children and young people across England. Since 2010, we’ve worked in partnership with communities to deliver an education that inspires ambition, promotes equity, and unlocks opportunity for every learner.

We believe every child has talent, every community has strength, and every school can be a place where excellence thrives. Our curriculum is rich, broad, and inclusive - designed to build knowledge, nurture creativity, and prepare students for the future.

We are united by a shared purpose: to transform lives through education. Our schools are places where students feel safe, supported, and empowered to lead their own lives with confidence. Through collaboration, high expectations, and purposeful leadership, we ensure that success is both expected and achieved - together. Visit our Trust website to explore how we support our staff and discover more about our mission, values, and opportunities.

Ready to Join Us?

Submit your application directly through our website. We warmly welcome visits to our school, and if you'd like to arrange a visit or confidential conversation with the Line Manager, our friendly HR/Recruitment team is here to help. Reach out to us at recruitment@creativeeducationtrust.org.uk, and we'll be delighted to assist you. Want to stay connected? Join our Talent Pool here and be the first to hear about future opportunities.

Essential Information:

Creative Education Trust (CET) is committed to Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people by keeping them safe, we expect all our colleagues to share in this responsibility.

All shortlisted candidates are subject to online checks prior to interview.

The CET Recruitment Policy follows the guidance set out by Keeping Children Safe in Education, where all offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS Check, separate Barred List Check, References and where appropriate a Prohibition from teaching search.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974.

CET is committed to developing, maintaining, and supporting an inclusive culture and environment for the benefit of its employees and the communities it serves.